


This Tornado Loves You

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Magical Realism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-01 01:38:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18790402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: The weather and Nick's boyfriend are acting weird. This makes sense, considering Nick's boyfriend is goalie/weather mage Sergei Bobrovsky. Unfortunately for Nick, nothing else about the situation does.





	This Tornado Loves You

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [[Podfic] these tornadoes are for you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11996415) by [frecklebombfic (frecklebomb)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frecklebomb/pseuds/frecklebombfic). 



> This was written for the first-ever Remixapod challenge. I greatly enjoyed listening to the submitted podfics and writing this fic, so I sincerely hope that more Remixapod challenges are in the future!
> 
> In the freetalk of the podfic listed above, frecklebombfic recommended going to the original fic and reading a comment reply in which the author, savedby, gave more information about Seth's floating. Click [here](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/108435585) to read that thread. (And click [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10747734) to read the original fic.)
> 
> The title of this fic comes from the [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ubXQvxDp8) of the same name by Neko Case, which was used in the podfic.

When Nick thought back to the day he and Sergei got together, the part that stood out was Sergei saying he’d eventually like to marry Nick. Despite his shock (heh-heh-heh), Nick had agreed to the idea with a caveat: “But you better not half-ass the proposal. I want it in public and there has to be choreography, okay?” Sergei hadn’t really said anything in response to that request, instead running off to get his limiters so they could kiss, but Nick was pretty sure Sergei was in agreement with this idea.

Right now, Sergei was getting settled under the covers, wrapping his arms around Nick carefully so as not to spark him. “I miss your shutout hugs.”

“So do I. But I bet you’ll earn one tomorrow.” Nick inhaled the familiar scent of ozone. “Sleep well, Sergei. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Nick. Good night.”

Nick sighed and fell asleep, safe and happy with his boyfriend.

-

Sure enough, Sergei got his shutout the following night. Nick gave him a bear hug and shouted, “BOB!” It was perfectly normal, down to the little zap from Sergei’s magic.

Things stayed normal for a few days after that. Nick and Sergei spent plenty of time together, but also spent time apart. Sergei remained a rock of steadiness in Nick’s life; even if Nick couldn’t read his emotions the way he could read other people’s emotions, it was obvious that Sergei was quite happy.

However, things stopped being normal bit by bit. The first sign was a windstorm hitting Columbus without Sergei fidgeting beforehand - in fact, Sergei seemed to be forcing himself to stay calm. Nick pointed this out, but Sergei just smiled and said, “Everything is fine, Nick.” So Nick believed him.

The next sign was a series of rainy days without thunder or lightning. Sergei kept forcing himself to stay calm, which carried over into good results on the ice. Nick remained confused, but knew Sergei would tell him if something was wrong, so he tried not to worry.

And finally, the weather started changing quickly. The local meteorologists had no explanation, but Nick was pretty sure he had one: Sergei Bobrovsky.

-

“Good morning, Nick.” Sergei kissed him, then hissed in pain. “I don't like shootouts.”

“I don't know anyone who does.” Nick handed him his mug. “Go see the trainers before practice.”

Sergei nodded, his gaze wandering past Nick to the window. “And that'll help, too.”

Nick turned around and sighed quietly. It was raining yet again. Something weird was going on, but all Nick knew was that it probably had to do with his boyfriend.

If Sergei thought anything was weird about the weather, he didn’t say so on the way to practice. He simply kissed Nick on the cheek and went off to see the trainers, leaving Nick to go along his normal route.

When Nick walked into the locker room, Seth was floating while talking to Zach. “Dude, this is going to be so cool!”

“I know! It’ll be a huge surprise for -”

“Aaaahhhh!” Seth fell down clumsily, which Nick was pretty sure he’d never seen happen before. 

“Bro, are you okay?!” Zach helped Seth to his feet.

“Yeah.” Seth tilted his head in Nick’s direction a few times. “I’m fine.”

“Ohhhhh.” Zach nodded and turned around. “Good morning, Nick! The weather’s been so dramatic lately, hasn’t it?” Seth facepalmed.

“Do I want to know what’s going on?” Nick asked carefully.

“No!” Seth shouted before Zach could say anything else. “I mean...no,” he said in a calmer tone. “Zach is just being weird, so everything’s normal.”

Quite frankly, Zach being weird was the only thing normal about any of this, but Nick didn’t feel like trying to figure things out right now. “If you say so, Seth. Now finish getting ready, both of you.”

-

Every year on a Sunday of PR’s choosing, the Blue Jackets hosted an open skate day at a public outdoor rink downtown. It was always well-attended by fans of all ages, and all of the players loved getting to skate without the pressure of a game.

When Nick woke up on the appointed day, he looked out the window and groaned. “They’re going to have to cancel the event.”

“No, they won’t,” Sergei replied. He sounded so confident that Nick decided to believe him.

About an hour later, they received an email from PR: “Weather’s no good for skating outside. We’re moving the event to the practice rink. Same time schedule.”

Within moments, the group chat was exploding with chirps aimed at Sergei: “What do you have against skating outside, Bob?” “Maybe you should pick the day instead of PR, Bob, eh?”

Nick looked at Sergei, who was rolling his eyes instead of actually replying. Smiling fondly, Nick typed his own reply: “Don’t worry, guys. Next year, I’ll wear him out the night before.”

The chirps quickly turned into expressions of disgust at what Nick was implying, just as he had predicted. Sergei kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “Thanks. Let’s get going.”

And so they did, arriving a few minutes early to gauge the size of the crowd. It was rather large, so Nick wasn’t surprised when PR came into the dressing room just before the team was supposed to enter. “We’re going to send you guys out separately,” the main organizer said. “Nick, you’re on first.” It was weird, but Nick knew better than to argue with PR, so he did as he was told.

The instant Nick’s skates touched the ice, music began to play. He didn’t recognize the song until the lyrics started: “It’s a beautiful night / We’re looking for something dumb to do…”

Nick’s jaw dropped as Bruno Mars continued to sing: “Hey, baby / I think I want to marry you.”

One by one, his teammates skated into view. They were wearing tuxedos and holding various flowers. As the song played, they danced... with much more enthusiasm than quality, Nick had to admit, but that made it all the more charming somehow. He could hear some people in the stands clapping to the beat, but he didn’t turn around to look at them; he just watched his team and waited with bated breath for his goalie.

As the song ended, the players formed two lines and did jazz hands to the side of the rink. Sergei appeared, wearing a tuxedo and holding a large bouquet of carnations. “I hope you like the choreography,” he said.

"I did," Nick smiled.

Sergei skated up to him, got down on one knee, and took a ring box out of his jacket pocket. “Nick, will you marry me, please?”

Nick nodded and reached for the box. The team applauded as he slipped the ring on his finger. “Will the weather go back to normal now?” he asked softly.

“Yes. And I won’t have to force myself to stay calm in order to keep the weather from getting even worse.”

“Wonderful.” Nick kissed him hard, relishing the scent of ozone and the roar of the crowd. Everything was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I don't know if there really is an outdoor rink in Columbus, or if the idea of an open/public skate as described here is realistic. It was the first thing that came to mind when I was thinking of the "public" element of the proposal; having to move inside because Sergei's feelings made the weather really bad struck me as a funny twist, so I ran with it!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


End file.
